BoHo Theatre Presents BIG RIVER: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 9/10-10/10

BoHo Theatre presents Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score, and eight Drama Desk Awards. Big River runs September 10 through October 10 at the new Theater Wit at 1229 W Belmont Avenue. Big River is directed by BoHo Artistic Director P. Marston Sullivan, with musical direction by Nicholas Davio, choreography by Ericka Mac, scenic design by Anders Jacobson and Judy Radovsky, lighting design by Samantha Treible, and costume design by Sarah Putnam. This production also features a photography exhibition by Midwest photographers, Dr. Abdul Sinno and Rafic Sinno, curated by Stephen Genovese and Thomas Samorian.

"Did the morning come too early, was the night not long enough?
Does a tear of hesitation fall on everything you touch?
Well, it might just be a lesson for the hasty heart to know
Maybe leavin's not the only way to go." - Big River

Twain's timeless classic sweeps us down the mighty Mississippi as the irrepressible Huck Finn helps his friend Jim, a slave, escape to freedom at the mouth of the Ohio River. Their adventures along the way are hilarious, suspenseful and heartwarming, bringing to life your favorite characters and all the fun and danger from the novel.

Propelled by an award winning score from country music legend Roger Miller, Big River's jaunty journey provides a theatrical celebration of pure Americana. The late Miller's score draws from an eclectic collection of musical styles including Cajun, gospel, blues and country. Director P. Marston Sullivan and musical director Nicholas Davio have stripped the original score down to a simple string orchestra, uncovering the honest core to Miller's tunes and bringing to life the human connections between Huck and the multifaceted characters who cross his path.

Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Music and lyrics by Roger Miller and book by William Hauptman
Directed by P. Marston Sullivan
Music directed by Nicholas Davio
Choreography by Ericka Mac
Scenic Design by Anders Jacobson and Judy Radovsky
Lighting Design by Samantha Treible
Costume Design by Sarah Putnam
Cast: Andrew Mueller as Huck and Brian-Alwyn Newland as Jim, with Will Allan, Christa Buck,
Courtney Crouse, Nick Davio, Rashada Dawan, John Leen, Anna Hammonds, Hilary Holbrook,
Cam McIntyre, Sean Thomas, and James Williams

September 10 - October 10, 2010
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Opening Night is Saturday, Sept 11 at 8:00pm.
Press Night and reception are on Monday, Sept. 13 at 8:00 p.m.

Theater Wit
1229 W Belmont Ave, Chicago
For tickets, call the Theater Wit Box Office at 773-975-8150 or visit www.bohotheatre.com
Tickets on sale August 9th
Opening weekend (Sept. 10 - 12) ticket price: $18
Regular run ticket price: $25

PHOTO EXHIBITION AND TALKBACK

As part of BoHo's mission of embracing and presenting art in all its forms, Big River will feature a mini-gallery of panoramic photographs of the Mississippi by Midwest photographers Dr. Abdul Sinno and Rafic Sinno. These renowned photographers, both of whom teach at Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, have published two books of some of the most awe-inspiring views of the Mississippi seen today. Along with the beautiful panoramic gallery, the Sinnos will give a specially-tailored presentation and talkback on their work, guiding the audience on a visual journey from the "16 stones" that are the start of the Mississippi all the way down to its end where it leaves land and meets the ocean. This presentation date will be announced soon.

BIOS

Roger Miller(Music/Lyrics) was one of the great country singer-songwriters. Born in 1936, Miller wrote countless country gems like "Invitation to the Blues", "King of the Road", and "Dang Me". He received eight Grammy Awards including the 1964 and 1965 Best Male Country and Western Album and the 1964 and 1965 Best Male Country and Western Performance. In 1985, BigRiver won seven Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Musical. He died in 1992 of lung cancer and was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995.

William Hauptman(Book) was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and attended the University of Texas and the Yale School of Drama. His plays include Heat, Domino Courts (Obie Award) and Gillette (Drama-Logue Award). For BigRiver, he won a 1985 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. His fiction has appeared in The Best American Short Stories anthology, and includes The Storm Season, a novel. He has also written screenplays for film and television and was a guest professor at the Texas Center for Writers, a program of the University of Texas at Austin. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Marjorie and their son Max.

P. Marston Sullivan(Director) has worked for the Marriott Theatre for over five years in various capacities including his current position of Artistic Associate, and is proud the be the new Artistic Director of BoHo Theatre. Marston earned a BA in Theatre and an MA in Teaching at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and an MFA in Directing at Illinois State University. Recent directing projects include I Am My Own Wife (co-director), Playing with Fire, M. Butterfly, andGhosts at BoHo, Black Comedy at Piccolo Theatre, Monster Garden at the Gorilla Tango Theatre, Cry Havoc at Bailiwick, and Metamorphoses at Illinois State University.

Nicholas Davio(Musical Director) is a Chicago-based musician who has appeared nationally and internationally with multiple groups over the past 20 years including the Battle Creek Boychoir,Blue Lake International Choir, Chicago-based fusion band Ferdinand Fox, and multi-media, electro/folk-rock band Hypermodal. Recent Chicago theatre credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch with American Theatre Company (guitar and keyboard), Girls vs. Boys with House Theatre (Asst. Musical Director, guitars, keyboard), The 100 Dresses with Chicago Children's Theatre (guitars/bass), Man of LaMancha with Theo Ubique (Guitar), The Who's Tommy with Northwestern Univerity(guitars), and The Castle with Oracle Theatre(Composition/Sound Design). He holds a Bachelor's in Music from Millikin University with an emphasis in vocal performance.

Ericka Mac(Choreographer) has performed in several Chicagoland shows, including: Grease (Cha Cha), West Side Story (Consuelo), The Pajama Game (Poopsie), and 13 other shows at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire; the Jeff award winning Sweet Charity (Helene), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy), and ThoroughlyModern Millie (Dorothy Parker) at Drury Lane Oakbrook Theatre; Man of LaMancha (Aldonza), A Chorus Line (DiAna Morales), Singin in the Rain (Lady in Green), and Jolson & Co. (where she played 9 different roles, including the legendary Mae West) at Theatre at the Center in Munster, IN; and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Rosemont Theatre. Ericka has choreographed for high schools, colleges, corporate events, and theatre.

BoHo Theatre structures each of its season around the four pillars or Bohemian philosophy: Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love. BoHo's 2010/11 mainstage season features Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Roger Miller and William Hauptman, The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, Dirty Blonde by Claudia Shear, and Icarus by Edwin Sanchez. Subscriptions are $80 and include a ticket to BoHo's first holiday show, Striking Twelve, by Brendan Milburn, Rachel Sheinkin, and Valerie Vigoda. For more information on subscriptions, visit www.bohotheatre.com or call 866-811-4111.

BoHo Theatreseeks to challenge convention through literary originality and eclectic expression while fostering an ever-evolving artistic environment in which people are inspired to learn, think, dream, and feel; to teach others and ourselves how to expand, create, and present art through theatre while reveling not only in the process, but also in the journey.